


Lesser Phantoms

by MeltyRum



Category: Persona 5, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22377628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeltyRum/pseuds/MeltyRum
Summary: Morgana and Ryuji go drinking because they're not as important as the rest.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12
Collections: Boku no Hero Academia x Persona





	Lesser Phantoms

Ryuji’s glass made a loud thunk as he set it down a little harder than he meant to, spilling a little beer and signaling to him that he should probably just stop drinking sometime soon. His companion still seemed to be going strong, though, despite his relatively minuscule stature. Looking down at the man (?) beside him, Ryuji noticed that something had captured his attention, and so followed the feline gaze toward the end of the bar, where a few predictably-dressed salary-men had parked themselves. While raucous, they weren’t really causing any trouble, simply drinking and laughing in turn, letting a little graveyard of empty bottles and glasses collect around them. Must have been a rough day in the office.

“Depressing, huh?” asked Morgana, not so loud that anyone besides Ryuji would hear.

“Huh? Them? I guess they’re going a little heavy on the sake, but I wouldn’t go that far,” he replied, as one of the businessmen took off his beer-stained tie and shoved it into his briefcase.

“That’s not what I meant. I mean…” the cat trailed off, giving Ryuji a worried glance before looking down at himself and gesturing at the both of them with his little paws. “Them—us—don’t you think these two pictures look a little too similar?”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a drink after work! Although I guess there is something a little weird about it,” he admitted, scratching his scalp uncomfortably.

“We’re only twenty!” said Morgana mournfully. “We shouldn’t be sitting here drinking like a bunch of downtrodden salary-men.” This sounded a little funny when Morgana immediately followed this thought by—with no small amount of effort—angling his bottle of beer toward his mouth.

“I guess you have a point, but it’s not like we’re here _every_ day,” said Ryuji. He spoke the truth, but for some reason having to say it out loud made him feel gross. “It’s just a couple of guys relaxing with a drink or two. We haven’t even hit our prime yet!”

As he nodded in response, Morgana sadly returned a wave someone gave him from across the bar, for maybe the third time that night. Unlike Ryuji—who could be pretty easily passed by when out of costume—it was pretty hard to forget the sight of someone like Morgana, even if mutation quirks were becoming more and more common.

“Maybe,” Morgana eventually conceded, standing up on his stool so he could push his empty bottle across the bar. “But maybe that’s the problem, too. We’re just a couple of _guys_ , Ryuji. You notice that all of the Phantoms are seeing people? Except the two of us? No offense to you or Mt. Lady,” he said, patting Ryuji’s arm sympathetically.

“Yeah, I know, I know.” He sighed, trying not to think of Takeyama-san. She was no doubt nice enough, but he would be lying if he said their dates were really going anywhere—not that he’d completely given up hope. Maybe only ninety-nine percent given up. “But—wait a second. There’s Futaba, too, you know?”

Morgana let out a tired little sigh. “Please. For one—even if she’s one of us—Futaba’s not a Phantom, officially speaking; for two, we _all_ know she and Mishima are happening sooner or later.”

Ryuji blinked once or twice, trying to hide his obliviousness. “Uh—yeah! I guess he visits pretty often, now that you mention it,” he said, chuckling uneasily.

This earned him a somewhat critical look from Morgana, but apparently this opportunity for ridicule didn’t prove to be worth it. “Anyway, that just leaves the two of us. And the way I see it, only one of us even has a chance to get a date before the Christmas party.”

If Ryuji didn’t know better, he’d think Morgana was going to take this chance to lord it over him a little, as he so enjoyed doing. Unfortunately, they were both quite aware of Morgana’s more… _unique_ properties. The big, obvious ones that set him apart from the rest of humanity—or at least from most of it. That was a depressing, alcohol-fueled conversation of which Ryuji had already taken part.

“You don’t give yourself enough credit, Mona,” he began, fidgeting with his glass and swirling the beer as he searched his cramped vocabulary for the words that might reassure his friend. “Hell, you’re one of the most recognizable members of the Phantoms! I bet there are tons of girls who would totally like to get to know you. It’s just, you know, this isn’t the place to find them.”

“There’re probably _also_ a lot of girls who just want to pick me up and hold me in their laps.”

“You say that as if it’s a bad thing, man. But yeah, that makes sense—everyone likes cats,” he blurted. He immediately braced himself, cursing the fact that he’d clearly had one beer too many.

“But I am _not_ a _cat_!” asserted Morgana, whose voice had risen to a volume that made Ryuji very nervous. It was unfortunate for Mona that his indignant glare was so comical looking on his big, cartoon cat face.

“Okay, okay!” whispered Ryuji, pleadingly. “I’m sorry, alright? It just slipped out!”

With a resentful huff, Morgana demanded another bottle from the barkeep. “And no more sippy cup jokes! Ryuji’s spilled more than me, you know!” he added with unusual attitude, but afterward seemed to simmer down as he slumped back down in his seat.

“As much as I appreciate some attention now and then, I’m sick of being treated like a mascot,” he said eventually. “Just because I’m the only mutant on the team doesn’t mean it has to be me!”

Ryuji thought about that for a moment. At face value, Morgana’s words were _true_ , but they still rubbed him the wrong way. “I get what you’re saying, but if it wasn’t you, who else would it be? No one else really has what it takes, y’know? So maybe it’s a role only you can fill—the face of the group and stuff.”

“If they need a face, they probably just think of Joker’s,” Morgana said, the defeat thick in his voice, although his expression softened a little bit. “But I appreciate that you’re trying to cheer me up, Ryuji. Thanks,” he said, with some audible difficulty.

Ryuji frowned sympathetically in response, but something about Morgana’s words got the gears of his brain to start turning, thinking that an interesting morsel of thought lay beneath the cat-boy’s words. When the people think of the Phantoms, they think of Joker, huh? It was true, but…

“Akira being the face of the team makes sense, but… you don’t need me to tell you that he’s kind of outta commission.” He nodded firmly to himself. “Without him, you’re the closest thing we have to a leader, Mona! Maybe this is your chance.” He finished with an encouraging smile, actually rather satisfied with this peppy line of logic. Certainly, if _he_ were Morgana, he’d feel pretty good about hearing that. Probably.

Morgana looked up at Ryuji uncertainly, with one skeptical eyebrow rising up his forehead—or at least, the lids of his mascot-like eyes morphed such that the overall impression was close enough to that. “I’m not just gonna usurp Joker’s position.”

“It’s not usurping if the position’s already empty, right?” prodded Ryuji, who valiantly pretended to know exactly what ‘usurp’ meant. “And if being seen as a mascot is what you’re worried about, becoming the ‘acting leader’ could be just what you need to lose that mascot-ness.”

Morgana pondered that over a few more swigs of beer. With one paw, he pensively stroked what passed for his chin. “I hate to admit it, but that’s a pretty good idea, Ryuji—especially for you. It’s actually pretty surprising we didn’t choose a temporary leader as soon as his license was suspended. But I still don’t know if it should be me; like Makoto, I’m a bit more of an _adviser_ ,” he said, with a sense of pride that he took no measures to conceal. “And the way the two of them are scheming all the time, Akechi might be a better pick.”

“Maybe, but Akechi’s busy. That guy has way too much on his plate already,” said Ryuji, feeling a little exhausted just _thinking_ about the detective’s workload. “And what with the whole Joker popularity situation… it might be better for the rest of us—in terms of rankings—if you led the Phantoms for a while, even after he does get back into the game.” He was actually rather impressed with himself. Was the beer was actually making his brain work… a little better? Hell yeah!

Morgana finished his drink as he listened, giving Ryuji’s words an appropriate amount of thought before piping up. “Well—no point in getting ahead of ourselves. You’ve heard the whispering about a real Phantom agency, right? If we get that started before Joker’s probation is up, maybe I’ll just have to step up to the plate—to draw in those recruits!”

“Yeah, there you go! Could be for the best. And I mean… I know it’s touchy, but I kinda wish Yusuke would come back. The team’s not complete with him gone, you know? And he’s probably not pissed with you, at least—so maybe you can talk to him.”

The mutant scratched his cheek uncertainly. “It’s worth a shot, but I don’t know how likely it is. Not everyone wants to be a hero the rest of their lives; not to mention—our differences aside—it’s pretty bad timing, what with the attack. I wouldn’t be surprised if we never see Fox in action again.”

It was at this time, as Ryuji glumly played with the condensation lingering on his empty glass, that one of the salary-men down the way started sobbing rather loudly, damn the name of his boss while his brethren drunkenly alternated between trying to calm him down and nodding along in agreement.

With a quiet scoff of disgust, Morgana stood up on his stool. “Ugh. Looking at them is making me even more sad. We should just get something from the store and drink at your place, Ryuji.”

Ryuji laughed a little, slightly amazed that Mona’s microscopic frame could handle so much alcohol. “Sorry—not a good idea. My roommate has his little cousin over… she’s like five years old or something.”

“Bah, it’s fine—I’d love to meet your cousin!”

“I said… roommate’s cousin, right?”

“Fine, fine. That’s news to me, though; you’re talking about Sagan, right?”

“Yeah, his cousin. She hasn’t been around that long; she’s a pretty nice kid, though. Always happy to see me! Well, him too. Maybe she’s just like that.”

Morgana nodded knowingly, having grown quite familiar with inspiring delight in young children. “Okay. How come she’s with you guys and not her parents?”

Ryuji looked up at the ceiling for inspiration, realizing he didn’t really remember the details. “I dunno. I think her parents are… _out_ somewhere? Probably overseas or something.”

“Huh. Okay, I guess,” he replied, with a dismissive shrug. “Either way, we should get out of here. I’m pretty sure those guys are all crying now and I don’t want to be here when they start making a mess. Or—even worse—if we start crying too, it’ll mean there really is no hope for us.” He hopped down to the ground, stretching his tiny limbs when he got there. “There’s always my place!”

“Yeah, but your furniture’s way too small,” sighed Ryuji, trying to suppress nightmares of toddler-sized chairs as he got up from his stool. “And to be honest, I’m prolly at my limit for the night. Couldn’t hurt to get some air, though.”

“Lagging behind as always, Ryuji. For someone who looks and acts like such a delinquent, you sure drink pretty modestly,” he said, with a fairly thick layer of self-satisfaction

“Who are you calling a delinquent!?” demanded Ryuji. “We aren’t even in high school anymore! If anything, it’s weird as hell that you’re only two feet tall and don’t even break a sweat after drinking twice as much as I do.”

“Yeah, don’t remind me,” replied the cat as he led them toward the door. “I guess having such a unique shape has its benefits from time to time.”

As the pair left the bar in search of new entertainment, Ryuji chuckled. For all of Morgana’s moaning regarding the body he’d been born with, it was still obvious to see that he took some pride in himself—that he was comfortable in his own skin. It was probably for the best, even if it narrowed Mona’s romantic prospects.

But he was sure the little guy would find the right person one day. As for _him_ , he couldn’t deny being a little jealous of the rest of the Phantoms, but he knew nothing good would come out of rushing it. Likewise, staying in a convenient (albeit shallow) relationship with Mt. Lady might not bear either of them much fruit, but there was also no sense in burning bridges just yet. Ryuji didn’t have a head for puns, but if he did, he’d acknowledge that Mt. Lady was a big deal, after all! She probably had plenty of lady friends of her own, so if one day they parted ways amicably… who knows?

Thoughts for another evening, probably—for when his head was a little less cloudy. They were young! Assuming villains didn’t take over the world in the next few years, Ryuji was confident it would all work out.


End file.
